Scouring utensil



5 BRADFORD. JR

SCOURING UTENS IL March 29, 1932.

Filed March 11, 1931 IN VEN TOR. En HARD .S'. BRABHRQJA A TTORNEY S.

Patentecl MaL'ZQ, 1932 nnit an fist-ares, rates -EDWABD slimanroan-ntjon LONGMEADOW.mnssaonusnrmsgassienon To slamme- FIELD WIRE & rm'snr. 00., or SPRINGFIELD; -MASSACHUSETTS,- A CORPORATIONT-OF strand as may be used in one form to make the In the drawings 'MASSACHUSETTS r soonmne UTENSIL 'Applicationfiled March 11, 1831. Serial lTQJSZLGBG. A:

. This invention relates to aspe'cie's'of scouring utensil. Itis made somewhat like the scouring utensil of my copending application Serial No.47a551, inthat it may be made like that one upto one point in its construction be pointedout with the drawings and specific description. I

Fig. 1 is a View ofthe twismd metallic structure of the invention Fig; 2 is a skeleton view ofv a support on which a skein of thestrand has been wound; a

Fig. 3is askeleton View of the skein on the support, after tying and before it is released from its skeinwindingposition;

- Fig. 4 is-a View of my new scourlng utensil in one of its forms;

. Fig. 5 is a viewin another of its forms; and

I V Fig. 6 is a transverse sectional View taken" on the line 10,11 of Fig; 4.

It is of'advantageyfor some purposes to have a scouringutensil shaped somewhat like a doughnut. "The hole in the center lets the water pass through in largevolume so that the utensil can clean and be cleaned by the running by of'the Water-asthe utensil is manipulated. This possibility inthe invention will'be apparent from the illustration of skein after it has been bound down tightly its forms in Figs. 4 and 5.

in said copending case, by winding a skein with a strand like 5. I wish to point out that the central carrying element ofthe strand may beof metal Wire fiattenedor round and.

'- tween'ieach pair of binding pointspufis out in multiple as well as single strands, or asis more usual, of textlle fibrous materialinstead otmetal-wire. The Winding-1s done under tension. In some respects for my present pur pose the strand 5 preferably has an elastic car rying cord such as the ordinary cotton corch The coiled filament of fiat-'- at the center. tened tinsel metal which is also elastic somejjace'nt sections'moying toward t hat like acoiled fspring, The combined elasticity of-the strand-5 has an eiiect;"as.-I

will point out, in getting the improved form of SCOHIIIIg'IItBIISIl.

' As shown in'Fig. 2, thestrand 5'is Wound on a revolvable frame 7 and the winding: is

:done' under tension. .Whena suitable amount of material is wound it is gatheredtogether on the frame inskein formas shown in Fig; 3.

i To make the utensil of 4:, Ipreferably I hook binding cord or wire 9 through theloop ottheskein at one end and pull this binding WlIG up into thevery end of theloop. -Then Ipass thewire around the skein .bo dyin a plane parallel tothe'length of the skeinat the fend bend. i tightlytie or bind the strands 'ofthe skeinasshown in Fig. 8. The other end is t edfdownln the same way. have proceeded as in my copending case. The

Thus far, I

departurefrom thatcase in one form consists in binding theskein at two diametrically op posed points 1O 1'1,' each located (to make the form of Fig. 4). half way'between'the'top and bottom bindings.

. Then I remove the utensil. from the frame 7.

The eiasticity of the skein causes its partsto nut form willbelrecognized.

' As contrasted with the sphericalform of utensil shown 111 my copendmg-case the new form'is annular. This annula'riorm ismade so by releasing the Windingtension ofthe at a series of equidistant points around its periphery. When the'skein'so bound is released from the frame (which holds it "stretched out until so bound and released) Whathappens isthat-the giniped cord berelaxing'and moves toward a spherical form, (as iii-my. copendmg case), but-this 'movement ,is partially restrained by the adspherical form With the linesbetween the binding points 9- and 10. atxdifi'erent: angles..

The result is that each section modifiesrthe relaxing movement of the other and the whole normally relaxes into the annular shape.

In Fig. 5 I have a modified form in which the shape is not so nearly that of an annulus as in Fig. 4, but more nearly heart-shaped. But it'still has the hole in the center like a doughnut. Because of this variation from one shape to another but with the same broad principle of construction involved, I use the analogy to the doughnut shape which is generally characterized by a hole in the center with a body of the material (not necessarily annular) enclosing the hole.

To make the form of Fig. 5, I bind the skein while under tension on frame 7 at three (instead of four) substantially equidistant points 12, 13, and 14, around its periphery, as shown. Then when a skein so bound is released it takes the form of Fig. 5. In that form the gimped cord is somewhat looser and pufiier around the periphery than in the form of Fig. 4 (assuming that the same amount of material is wound in making the skein), and the hole is somewhat smaller.

But in both cases the gimped cord is of loose enough character to let the binding sink in the fiuily mass and to effectively guard the binding wire (or other means) against being exposed at the surface of the utensil.

" Because each binding wire is located between two closely abutting sections of the loose material arranged around the central hole, each binding wire is most effectively buried in the mass of gimped cord where it can perform its binding function without interfering with the use of utensil as the wire would do if it were normally exposed where it could scratch the work or the hand.

As compared to the earlier utensil of my i said copending case the one herein disclosed is flattened down and spread out so as to resemble an annulus rather than a sphere in form. This change in form from the spherical to the annulus is accomplished by having three or more binding elements to form a series of equally spaced means about the skein body to bind it down. It is a small change in means but a radical change in the resulting form of the utensil.

Having described my invention what I claim is:

1. An annular cleaning utensil of the class described comprising a series of at least three circular binding elements, a strand of metallic gimped material formed into loops, each loop passing once through each binding element, said binding elements being located at substantially equal points around the closed path of the loops, there being enough of said loops and of the binding elements to form a loose mass between each pair of binding elements of the series and with the loose mass between one pair abutting another mass of like kind between successive binding elements.

2. An annular cleaning utensil of the class described comprising a series of at least three circular binding elements, a strand of metallie gimped material formed into loops, said binding elements being arranged at substantially equal distances around the looped material and each of said elements being wound to compact the strands of the loop in a plane at right angles to its periphery, each loop passing once through each bindin element and with the material between eaci of said binding elements bowed outwardly into a fluify loose mass, all arranged so that a series of such flufi'y masses is disposed around a central opening and the binding elements lie hidden at the abutting ends of such masses.

3. A cleaning utensil of the class described comprising a series of at least three approximately spherical masses of gimped metallic strand 'material arranged in a closed path, each one of said masses formed of strands which extend in bowed out form from the opposite poles of its approximately spherical mass, all of said masses being made up of the strand material which is looped around the closed path of the series and is bound down into closely consolidated form at each adjacent pair of poles of said masses, the material adjacent such poles in each mass being suflicient to contact the adjacent mass and bury the consolidated pole portions, and binding means to hold the said closely consolidated form of the strands between each pair of said series.

4. An annular cleaning utensil made up of gimped metallic strand material arranged in annular form, binding means acting to keep the annular form spread out with well opened loops, said binding means comprising a series of at least three equidistant tying devices each wound at right angles to the skein material to consolidate the latter at such points, the material of the skein being arranged between the tying devices in loose mass form, each such form closely abutting in a series around the opening of the skein form.

5. An annular cleaning utensil made up of gimped metallic strand material arranged in annular form, binding means acting to keep the annular form spread out with well opened.

loops, said binding means comprising a series of four equidistant tying devices each would at right angles to the skein material to consolidate the latter at such points, the material of the skein being arranged between the tying devices in loose mass form, each such form closely abutting in a series around the opening of the skein form.

In testimony I have afiixed my signature.

EDWARD S. BRADFORD, JR. 

